Fire in Farmville / Bury the Power Lines?

I wish I had pictures of this. Yesterday in Farmville, VA, strong winds brought down power lines in the woods across the street from my house. The downed lines ignited fires in the woods, which proceeded to go up in smoke. Power was out for several hours over a good portion of Farmville, for most points south of Milnwood Road on Main Street. This morning, only two homes on our street don’t have power, and one of them is mine. Thanks, Dominion Power. You guys are awesome.

The fire department kicked us out of the house, which we didn’t mind since it’s never good to be on fire. We got back in late last night, but fires kept breaking out in the woods directly across the street from my living room. We called the fire department again at around 9:15 PM, and they came yet again around 1:30 AM (Mon). I guess fires in the woods are hard to put out.

It sucks to have no electricity. What part of your life isn’t affected? We have wireless phones, which of course are useless, and we can’t charge up our cells. No appliances, no lights, no heat, no Internet. But the toilets still work.

The real problem here is above-ground power lines. They’re so ubiquitous you probably don’t notice them, but the next time you’re outside allow yourself a few moments to gaze upon them, and note carefully how they integrate into the environment. They’re unsightly in the worst way. And, being essentially completely unprotected, they snap during high winds and ice storms. Electric utilities made a huge mistake by stringing power lines above ground on those stupid poles. The phone company knew better, perhaps by noting what had happened. Phone lines are buried, and thus your phone generally stays on when the power goes out. (Your telephone gets electrical power through the phone line.)

Should we bury our power lines? This question divides into two: should bury existing distribution lines, and should be bury new lines. The North Carolina Utilities Commission recommends against burying existing lines, but suggested utilities continue to bury new lines where feasible:

The North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) issued a report in November that recommends against burying utility lines throughout existing utility distribution systems, because the financial and environmental costs would be too great. The commission did suggest, however, that electric utilities continue their practice of burying lines when feasible, including in newly developed areas as well as when the cost to do so can be paid or shared by the party requesting burial or by a third party.

Cost is the major issue with buried lines:

The study concludes that consumers would end up paying considerably higher utility bills, plus the cost of connecting electric service to their residences or places of business. Referring to the investor-owned utilities alone, the NCUC said “Such an undertaking would cost approximately $41 billion, nearly six times the net book value of the utilities’ current distribution assets, and would require approximately 25 years to complete. The ultimate impact of the capital costs alone on an average residential customer’s monthly electric bill would be an increase of more than 125 percent.

I suppose the utilities are worried about their customers not being able to afford higher electricity bills. After all, you can mail the bill, but you can’t guarantee customers will pay it. You can’t force people to pay money they don’t have, and if customers can’t pay for a project the state has ordered you to complete, what can you do?

Utility companies consistently point out the projected higher maintenance cost of underground cables. But higher costs per repair times fewer repairs might equal less overall costs for maintenance. Although when the lights do go out, one might have to wait days instead of hours before repairs are effected.

Follow this link to read the full NCUC report. (PDF–opens in a new window or browser tab.)

An article in the Hutchinson (Kansas) News cites an EEI (Edison Electric Institute) study that focused in part on Virginia:

The EEI study examined conversion studies or initiatives in Florida, New York, North Carolina, California and Virginia. It found that the cost of statewide conversions in Florida and California would require rate increases ranging from 80 to 125 percent. The Virginia study calculated the annual cost at $3,500 per customer, and the North Carolina report indicated it would take 25 years to accomplish.(Emphasis mine.)

But if burying existing lines is too expensive, we can still bury new lines:

What the experts say makes more sense, and what many communities around Kansas and nationwide have been doing for at least a decade, is requiring any new housing subdivisions to include underground wiring.

The cost is still more expensive than aboveground lines, but it’s substantially closer when things aren’t in the way.

A Canadian study that came out in March – authorized for the city of Halifax after Hurricane Juan caused more than $12 million in damage to the region’s power structure in September 2003, followed by two more devastating storms in 2004 – recommends just such a measure.

The study found that savings from eliminating the storm damages themselves – even taking into consideration the possibility that climate change will double the number of severe storms and the reduced operating and maintenance costs of underground lines – still wouldn’t justify the extra expense.

Eliminating overhead lines, however, allowed homeowners to grow more, larger trees, and that substantially increased property values – worth nearly three times the extra cost for the line over the life of a home mortgage. The study said each tree added 1 to 3 percent to the home’s value.

It also benefited the community, the study noted, in reducing pollution because of the increased tree canopy.

Perhaps this is the best compromise: bury lines in new subdivisions, and then bury lines in existing subdivisions where the costs are not too great.

Follow this link for the EEI reports. They are generally not favorably disposed toward underground cables.